diff --git a/core/binary.mk b/core/binary.mk
index d7224873ad..1c0f7a32c3 100644
--- a/core/binary.mk
+++ b/core/binary.mk
@@ -1262,6 +1262,11 @@ ifndef LOCAL_SDK_VERSION
   my_c_includes += $(JNI_H_INCLUDE)
 endif
 
+my_outside_includes := $(filter-out $(OUT_DIR)/%,$(filter /%,$(my_c_includes)))
+ifneq ($(my_outside_includes),)
+$(error $(LOCAL_MODULE_MAKEFILE): $(LOCAL_MODULE): C_INCLUDES must be under the source or output directories: $(my_outside_includes))
+endif
+
 # all_objects includes gen_o_objects which were part of LOCAL_GENERATED_SOURCES;
 # use normal_objects here to avoid creating circular dependencies. This assumes
 # that custom build rules which generate .o files don't consume other generated